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You're confusing two things - "illegal immigration" (i.e. not regularised immigration, people coming in who are not legally entitled to) and "illegal immigrant" (used as a derogatory term, implying a lower entitlement to rights etc).
It clearly is illegal to enter the UK through non-permitted means, due to some horribly illiberal legislation passed this year. That's not what I want the law to be, but pretending it isn't doesn't help to get us to a more liberal position.
andyfallsoff-
I'm not.
It clearly is illegal to enter the UK through non-permitted means, due to some horribly illiberal legislation passed this year.
There are no safe and legal routes to the UK however, the Home Office only allows people to make an asylum claim when they are in the UK. Everyone has a right to claim asylum under international law (the 1951 Refugee Convention which the UK is party to). Under international law, when you enter the UK, you should declare yourself to the Home Office who will assess your claim of asylum. As we've seen, the percentage of people at this stage being granted some form of leave to remain has increased.
JamesQGM
Oh she also said
'Illegal immigration' is a right-wing dog whistle and has no standing in law. No one is 'illegal' when entering the UK. Also, since asylum claim success rates have increased until recently, I'm not sure how 'illegal immigration' could be increasing either.
Basically her statement was complete tosh.